As the Mic(helob) poured and the beads were strewn on the assembled ‘BOS
listeners, local boy made good Todd Thibaud took the mic(rophone) and got
the beat going for the opening night of WBOS’s new Thursday night music
club. Backed by the punctuated bass of Jeff St. Pierre and the chokky toms
and sprinkled cymbals of Milt Sutton, Thibaud held the front line with a
distinct combination of three guitars, including his own countrified
acoustic and the more urban tones of Rick Harris and Neal Casal. From
drowsy slow dances to swarming chunkers and swirling foot-stompers,
Thibaud mixed it up and laid it down, taking a “Cold” dip into earlier
material before closing with the title track from his new Doolittle
recording Little Mystery. Whether from Southie or from Ireland proper,
Thibaud’s fans old and new were treated to a great set!
As Matt Phipps cranked up the schmaltzy dance music, Indigenous snaked
their way hand-in-hand through the oddly gyratic crowd. Fortunately, their
familiar mix of reverse-stringed Strat and Vaughan family style quickly
rocked the crowd back to its senses. Though the hand percussion was often
lost behind the far up front amp-squeaking guitar screams, the steady bass
and hollow drum slap kept a stiff pace. Pushing forth noisy, explosive
jumpin’ rock raunch, Indigenous greatly altered what most considered to be
“Native American music” and showed that, deep inside, we all rock the same
way.